I Want To The Do Grand Canyon Rim-to-rim Hike, But Can Only Get Away In The Summer. I Hear Horror Stories About The Temperatures Then; Shall I Just Forget It?

Granted, the best times to hike the rim-to-rim are fall and spring, when temps are cooler. But, yes, you can do the hike in summer, too, despite canyon -bottom averages of 110-120 degrees F.
The number one heat survival strategy is to drink water until you are satiated -- then drink a lot more. On a July trip with temps of 123 degrees F., I drank a gallon a day, yet urinated just twice. The importance of hydration cannot be overemphasized.

Wear a hat for two reasons: it prevents most UV rays from damaging your eyes, and it keeps your head cool. The human head is covered in a thin layer of capillary-rich skin. A hat keeps those tiny, crucial veins cooler.

Wet your shirt at every opportunity; better yet, periodically lie down in the creekside trails and get your shorts wet, too. Then continue hiking.

Take a midday siesta in the shade. In July, we would set the alarm for as soon as it got light, hike until about 10 a.m., then laze around camp near water and in the shade for the worst of the heat. At about 4, we would saddle up again and hike until it got dark -- about 9 p.m. in the summer at that latitude.
Hiking toward the North Rim at about dusk, I encountered a staggering, hatless woman wearing a bum bag, tank top and shorts, clutching an empty quart water bottle. She had hiked down from the North Rim on a day trip, and worriedly asked me how far she was from the next water source, Cottonwood Campground. I told her it was still a few miles away. Fortunately for her, I had iodine to purify the water of the nearby creek and refill her bottle.

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